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Counties of Florida
In 1821, there were only two counties in Florida: Escambia to the west and St. Johns to the east. From these two counties were formed 67 today. This is a list of 67 counties in the U.S. state of Florida. Alachua County Seat: Gainesville Established: 1824 Origin: Formed from Duval and St. Johns Counties Etyomlogy: From a native word for the watering holes in the area Population: 217955 Area: 874 square miles Baker County Seat: Macclenny Established: 1861 Origin: Formed from Bradford County Etymology: James McNair Baker Population: 22259 Area: 585 Square miles Bay County Seat: Panama City Established: 1913 Origin: Formed from Calhoun and Washington Counties Etyomology: St. Andrew's Bay, the central geographic feature of the county Population: 148,217 Area: 764 Square miles Bradford County Seat: Starke Established: 1858 Origin: Formed from Columbia County (but called New River County until 1861) Etymology: Capt. Richard Bradford Population: 26088 Area: 293 Square miles Brevard County Seat: Titusville Established: 1844 Origin: Formed from Orange County (but called St. Lucia County until 1855) Etymology: Thomas Washington Brevard, former state comptroller Population: 476,230 Area: 1,018 Square miles Broward County Seat: Fort Lauderdale Established: 1915 Origin: Formed from Dade and Palm Beach Counties Etymology: Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, former governor of Florida Population: 1,623,018 Area: 1,209 Calhoun County Seat: Blountstown Established: 1838 Origin: Formed from Franklin, Jackson, and Washington Counties Etymology: John C. Calhoun Population: 13,017 Area: 567 Charlotte County Seat: Punta Gorda Established: 1921 Origin: Formed from DeSoto County Etymology: Queen Charlotte Sophia, wife of King George III Population: 141,627 Area: 694 Citrus County Seat: Inverness Established: 1887 Origin: Formed from Hernando County Etymology: The county's citrus trees Population: 118,085 Area: 584 Clay County Seat: Green Cove Springs Established: 1858 Origin: Formed from Duval County Etyomology: Henry Clay Population: 140,814 Area: 601 Squares miles Collier County Seat: Naples Established: 1923 Origin: Formed from Lee County Etymology: Advertising mogul Barron Collier Population: 251,377 Area: 2026 Square miles Columbia County Seat= Lake City Established: 1832 Origins: Formed from Alachua County Etymology: Christopher Columbus Population: 56,513 Area: 797 Square miles DeSoto County Seat: Arcadia Established: 1887 Origin: Formed from Manatee County Etymology: Hernando de Soto Population: 32,209 Area: 637 sq miles Dixie County Seat: Cross City Established: 1921 Origin: Formed from Lafayette County Etymology: Dixie is a common nickname for the Southern United States Population: 13,827 Area: 704 sq miles Duval County Seat: Jacksonville Established: 1822 Origin: Formed from St. Johns County Etymology: William Pope Duval, former territorial governor Population: 778,879 Area: 774 Escambia County Flagler County Franklin County Gadsen County Gilcrest County Glades County Gulf County Seat: Port St. Joe Established: 1925 Origin: Formed from Calhoun County Etymology: The Gulf of Mexico Population: 13,332 Area: 565 sq miles Hamilton County Hardee County Hendry County Hernando County Highlands County Hillsborough County Holmes County Indian River County Jackson County Seat: Marianna Established: 1822 Origin: Formed from Escambia County Etymology: Andrew Jackson Population: 46,755 Area: 916 sq miles Jefferson County Lafayetee County Lake County Lee County Leon County Levy County Liberty County Madison County Manatee County Marion County Martin County Miami-Dade County Monroe County Nassau County Okaloosa County Okeechobee County Orange County Osceola County Palm Beach County Seat: West Palm Beach Established: 1909 Etyomology: The county's two main geographic features Origin: Formed from Dade County Population: 1131184 Area: 2034 Square miles Notes: The biggest county in Florida Pasco County Pinellas County Polk County Putnam County Saint Johns County Saint Lucie Santa Rosa County Sarasota County Seminole County Sumter County Suwanne County Taylor County Union County Seat: Lake Butler, Florida Established: 1921 Origin: Formed from Bradford County Etymology: A common name for the Northern side in the American Civil War Population: 13,442 Area: 240 notes: Florida smallest county Volusia County Seat: De Land, Florida Established: 1854 Origin: Formed from Orange County Etymology: The port of Volusia, whose etymology is unknown Population: 443,343 Area: 1,106 Wakulla County Seat: Crawfordville, Florida Established: 1843 Origin: Formed from Leon County Etymology: The Wakulla River, itself named for a Spanish corruption of a Timucuan word of unknown origin Population: 22,863 Area: 607 sq miles Walton County Seat: DeFuniak Springs, Florida Established: 1824 Origin: Formed from Escambia and Jackson Counties Etymology: George Walton, first Secretary of Florida Territory Population: 40,601 Area: 1,058}} Washington County Seat: Chipley Established: 1825 Origin: Formed from Jackson and Walton Counties Etymology: George Washington Population: 20,973 Area: 580 sq miles Former Counties of Florida * Benton (1721-1850) — Name changed from Hernando and then back to Hernando. * Fayette (1832-1834) — Formed from Jackson and then merged back into Jackson. * Mosquito (1824-1845) — Name changed to Orange. * New River (1858-1861) — Name changed to Bradford. * Saint Lucia (1844-1855) — Name changed to Brevard. Part of Brevard became Saint Lucie in 1917. References Wikipedia